Cross Catholic Outreach

Delivering food, shelter, and hope to the poorest of the poor

Español
Delivering food, shelter and hope to the poorest of the poor.
  • Donate
  • Our Impact
  • Ways to Give
    • Give by Program
      • Greatest Needs
      • Food
      • Education
      • Water
      • Medical
      • Homes
      • Vulnerable Children
      • Elderly Care
      • Microenterprise
      • Disaster Relief
    • Give by Region
      • Africa
      • Asia
      • Caribbean
      • Latin America
      • South America
    • Monthly Giving
    • Greatest Needs
    • Major Gifts
      • Water For Life Kenya
      • Kobonal Mission
      • Transform Santa Rosa
      • Help Children Blossom
    • Planned Giving
    • Foundations and Other Grantmakers
  • Get Involved
    • Box of Joy®
    • Lent
    • Advent
    • Invite a Priest
    • Food Packing Events
    • Clergy & Diocese
    • Mission & Vision Trips
  • Church & School
  • Projects Catalog
    • Programs
      • Greatest Needs
      • Food
      • Education
      • Water
      • Medical
      • Homes
      • Vulnerable Children
      • Elderly Care
      • Microenterprise
      • Disaster Relief
    • Regions
      • Africa
      • Asia
      • Caribbean
      • Latin America
      • South America
  • About Us
    • Our Mission
    • Board and Leadership
    • Financials
    • What We Do
      • Food
      • Education
      • Housing
      • Disaster Relief
      • Water
    • Where We Work
      • Ethiopia
      • Guatemala
      • Kenya
      • Nicaragua
    • Stories and Updates
    • Careers
    • News Center
    • God in Our Office
    • Contact Us

Rich Lesson Learned from the Poor

April 15, 2010 by Cross Catholic Blog

It is amazing to witness the incredible generosity of our Catholic brothers and sisters in developing countries. For example, Jim Kline, our Africa Projects Officer, recently returned from Ethiopia with a beautifully-woven basket. A very poor, single mom had given it to him. It was one of the very few things she owned, and she’d made it herself—she wove and sold baskets for a living. Her gift represented an enormous amount of time, as well as food and other necessities the sale of that basket would have meant for her family. But she insisted he have it.

Africa Projects Officer, Jim Kline, accepts the generous gift of four cabbages from an impoverished woman who grows them for income.

Another poor Ethiopian woman grew cabbage on a small plot of land to sell in the marketplace. She absolutely insisted Jim take no less than four of her cabbages. Again, that gift represented a generous portion of the only source of income she had, but she gave it out of Christ-like love. Both women were able to earn their livelihood because of Cross Catholic’s support of an income-generation program for marginalized women. It was their way of giving back out of their bounty.

When one elderly man in Haiti was asked why he cooked what little food he got from Cross Catholic-sponsored Kobonal Emergency Survival Program and invited his poor neighbors to come and eat, he explained, “The Bible tells us, what I have I’m supposed to share with my brothers and sisters, even if they don’t share with me…When it’s all said and done, it’s not me giving it to them. It’s God giving it to them, because it was God who gave it to me.”

1 John 3:17 tells us that if we have material possessions and see a brother in need but have no pity on him, the love of God is not in us; and James 2:15-17 says if we see a sister without clothes or food and simply give her good wishes but do nothing to actually help her, our faith is dead.  The people Cross Catholic works to serve—the poorest of the poor—have next to nothing; yet they freely and generously give, not only to their needy neighbors, but also to those of us like Jim, who have more material possessions than they will probably ever own. Catholics in prosperous countries such as the U.S. could benefit from their incredible examples of selflessness.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Ethiopia, feeding, Food, women

Project Catalog

  • Greatest Needs
  • Food
  • Education
  • Water
  • Medical
  • Housing
  • Orphans and Vulnerable Children
  • Elderly Care
  • Microenterprise
  • Disaster Relief

Project Regions

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Caribbean
  • Latin America
  • South America

Cross Catholic Outreach
2700 N. Military Trail, Suite 300
PO Box 273908
Boca Raton, Florida 33427-3908
800-914-2420
Cross Catholic Outreach is a 501(c)(3)
EIN 65-1156061

Audited Financial for Fiscal Year 2019

© 2020 Cross Catholic Outreach. All rights reserved.

 
Contact Us | Privacy Policy
Disclosure Statement

Copyright © 2021 · Enterprise Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in